Parallels
by Tanglepelt
Summary: When Romulus Marcellus brings his grandsons over to his old rival Diedrich Beilschmidt's house for a playdate with the man's grandsons,, he never thought that both sets of boys would be parallels to each other, not to mention, he himself and Diedrich. -Human AU- -Rome and Germania centric- -For the Hetalia Holiday Exchange-


**Hello~ I am back with another new oneshot! I participated in the hetaliaexchangeblog Holiday Exchange on Tumblr. One of the prompts my partner suggested was 'the ancients having a playdate with their babies'.**

**This is my first time writing any of these characters, so hopefully, this isn't too awful.**

**I decided to make this a human AU because it was easier for the characters to interact this way. However, since this is AU, it won't be very historical.**

**I wanted to include Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt, but I didn't really know how to fit them in. Hopefully, just Rome and Germania are okay.**

**Since Rome and Germania do not have human names, I took the liberty of giving them some. Rome is Romulus Marcellus in this story, and Germania is Diedrich Beilschmidt. (Note: I gave Rome a different surname than Lovi and Feli because 'Vargas' isn't a traditional Roman name.)**

**Merry Christmas, bagofbadgers! I hope you enjoy this story~**

**/**

**Parallels**

Romulus Marcellus shook his head, silently laughing to himself. He wondered what the odds of his grandson becoming friends with his college rival's grandson were, but shrugged it off in favor of getting the car ready. Once the back seats were kid-proof, he went back inside to grab his grandsons. Though the younger boy, Feliciano, was the one who had the playdate, he couldn't just leave the elder, Lovino, all alone, could he? And, knowing the surly boy, he wouldn't work well with a babysitter, so the only option was to bring him along, too.

"Okay, _mio nipoti_, it's time to go."

"Yay! I can't wait to see Luddy!" Feliciano's eyes widened, his mouth curving into a smile that made Romulus's heart melt.

In contrast, Lovino merely rolled his eyes, crossing his short arms across his chest. "Whatever."

Romulus's eyes softened, and he internally sighed. He knew that the older of the boys still hadn't got over his parents' death. Feliciano had his moments of grief, of course, but the boy himself didn't know why he was crying, sometimes. He was only six, after all. He knew his parents were gone, but the full extent of the situation was incomprehensible to him. Romulus suspected that the bright-eyed boy understood exactly what happened, but instead of letting the sadness consume him, he tried to channel his grief through more peaceful means, like painting and cooking. Lovino, on the other hand, was eight. Despite his young age, he had lost his naivety, especially since it was he who had been in the car at the time of the accident, not his brother. Instead of finding comfort in the activities Feliciano enjoyed, he rejected them, especially since he didn't share the same aptitude for them. No, Lovino chose to spend his free time alone in his room, reading books under his blanket.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, Romulus shook his head. He led his grandsons into the car, and, once they were buckled in, he began to drive, making sure he was going exactly the speed limit. He didn't want Lovino panicking; he knew from experience that it would take ages to calm the boy down.

After a relatively quiet drive, he reached the home of Diedrich Beilschmidt. _Figures. _He shook his head, chuckling quietly. The house was large and imposing, with perfectly trimmed shrubs and lawn. _I don't think he's changed much. _Once he found a suitable parking spot, he unbuckled Feliciano and Lovino. While the former practically leapt out of the car, his face bright with excitement, the latter rolled his eyes, unmoving.

"Come on, Lovi," Romulus gently chided. "I need to lock up the car, and I can't do that with you in it."

Lovino merely shrugged and turned away.

"_Per favore, nipote." _Romulus was exasperated. "Feli's going to be late for his playdate."

The boy's eyes went wide before narrowing into slits. He turned away, crossing his arms.

Romulus realized that he said the wrong thing, knowing fully well that the sullen boy was jealous of his younger brother. "Lovino, I'm—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the brunet jumped out of the car and ran towards the door of the Beilschmidts' home. _At least he didn't run away this time…_

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Romulus grabbed Feliciano's hand and approached the door, as well. Trying not to roll his eyes in front of his grandsons, he rang the ornate doorbell. After a few moments, the door creaked open, revealing a familiar face. "Mr. Marcellus and grandsons. Do come in."

"Heh. You haven't changed a bit, Diedrich!"

"I think it would be best to call me 'Mr. Beilschmidt' in front of the children."

"Whatever you say, _Your Highness_." The Italian smirked before slapping the blond man on the back and guiding his grandsons inside, closing the door behind him.

"Gilbert! Ludwig! Mr. Marcellus and the Vargas boys are here!"

It didn't take long for the pitter-patter of feet to be heard upstairs. Before Romulus could blink, two boys rushed down the stairs and stood on either side of their grandfather. While the shorter of the two looked like an exact replica of his grandfather with his piercing blue eyes and blond hair, the taller had an…unusual…appearance, to say the least. Messy silver hair that almost looked whitish-blond at certain angles covered his head, and his eyes were a strange deep red.

"I look cool, right? That's why you're staring?" Like his own grandsons, this boy had an accent, though it was German.

"Haha, yeah! You look awesome!" Romulus didn't know what else to say, so he decided it would be best to flatter the boy.

"Of course I do." The silver-haired boy smirked. "I'm Gilbert."

"So I take it you must be Ludwig, then." Romulus turned to the shorter boy, who was being hugged by Feliciano. "I should have guessed, since Feli is hanging off of you."

"Ja." Ludwig blushed and looked away.

"I knew it. You look just like your grandfather." Realizing something, he turned to Dietrich. "Gilbert is eight, right?"

The blond nodded.

"Awesome! Now Lovi has a playmate, too. Hey, Lovino?"

But the bruent was nowhere to be found. _Great. Not this, again._

"I'll find him for you," Gilbert offered. "I don't wanna be hanging out with those two dorks, anyway." Before either adult could answer, he took off running, his cackling echoing throughout the room.

As Feliciano and Ludwig ran over to the blocks that were set up on the other side of the room, Romulus took a seat on the couch. Diedrich soon followed, though his way of sitting was more elegant.

"You are in the same situation as me," Diedrich observed.

"Eh?"

"Your daughter and her husband died. My son and his wife died. And now we are both taking care of our grandchildren. I honestly never thought I would see you again after college, much less invite you over to my house. It's funny how the world works sometimes, isn't it?"

"Yeah, you're right about that." Romulus dropped his usual frivolous tone. "We're more similar than I first thought. I mean, both of us were born to immigrants, lived in the same dorm, and even took some of the same classes. And now we both have two grandsons in our care."

"Yes. Those boys are my life, now. I'm trying to make them as comfortable as possible, but, well, you've seen their personalities. Ever since the fire that…that killed their parents, Ludwig has been withdrawn, while Gilbert's been acting reckless."

"It's the same for me. Feliciano doesn't show it, but I know he misses his parents. And Lovino? Sometimes, I don't know what to do to comfort him. Nothing I do is working. That's partially the reason why I didn't change their surnames to mine; I know Lovi wanted to keep the memory of his parents alive through his name."

"You're not a bad guy, Marcellus."

"Right back at you, Beilschmidt."

The two sat in silence until Ludwig and Feliciano ran over to them, their hands intertwined. "I have an announcement to make," Ludwig stated, his voice serious.

"What is it?" Diedrich asked, his voice equally serious.

"Feliciano is so nice and pretty. I want to marry her!"

Romulus didn't know what made him laugh more; the fact that his grandson was mistaken for a girl, or the look on Diedrich's face.

"What's so funny?" Ludwig turned away, pouting.

"I'm not laughing at you, Luddy. Don't worry." Romulus wiped his eyes. "Just…Feliciano is a boy."

"Oh." Ludwig blushed more than before. "I still want to marry him."

"I accept!" Feliciano practically sang, hugging his new friend until both fell onto the ground.

"Feli?" Romulus was speechless. "Why didn't you tell Ludwig that you're a boy?"

Sitting up, Feliciano shrugged. "I thought he already knew." Giggling, he pulled Ludwig to his feet, and they both ran back to their block tower.

After awhile, Gilbert ran down the stairs, pulling Lovino with him. The brunet's eyes were watery, like he had been crying, but Romulus had a gut feeling that Gilbert was not the cause of it. The two strode (well, _Gilbert _was the one doing all the striding; Lovino shuffled) over to their grandfathers, unhappy looks on their faces.

"We just wanted to let you know that Luddy and Feliciano aren't the only people here," Gilbert began. "The next time you guys come over, don't just refer to it as 'Ludwig and Feliciano's playdate'. We're people too, you know."

"Do you agree with Gil, Lovino?" Romulus asked, frowning.

"Yes!" the boy finally spat. "Just because I'm not as perfect as Feliciano doesn't mean I'm the reject kid! It's all Feli-this and Feli-that. The only reason I'm here is because you couldn't leave me alone, not because you thought I would have fun with Gilbert!"

Romulus was speechless. He knew that, sometimes, he favored Feliciano, but only because Lovino was so distant to him. He had no idea that it was _because _he was favoring Feliciano that the older boy was distant. When he finally regained his voice, he cleared his throat. "Lovino…I'm sorry. I wasn't favoring Feliciano on purpose. It might seem that way because, well, maybe, I was afraid to reach out to you. I mean, you haven't been very welcoming…" He tugged on his tie. "But that's beside the point, since I know now that you've been distant because you think I don't care about you. But I do."

He looked to the side to see Gilbert nodding, the cocky smirk gone from his face, for once.

"How did you know that Lovino felt this way?" Diedrich asked.

"I could see it in his eyes," the silver-haired boy responded, grumbling. "It didn't take much questioning until he started crying about it."

"You bastard!" Lovino's face went red. "You said you wouldn't bring that up!"

"Well, I lied!" Gilbert cackled. "But I helped, didn't I?"

"Yeah, whatever…" the brunet crossed his arms and turned away.

Romulus didn't know what shocked him more: the fact that Lovino didn't attack Gilbert, or the fact that he had figured out what certain swear words meant.

"You're a good friend, Gilbert." Diedrich reached out and patted the boy's head.

"I figured if I didn't bring this up now, no one would. Lovino sure wouldn't."

"Shut up, Gil!" the shorter boy whined, still pouting.

"I mean, I wish someone did the same for me." The look on his face darkened before the smirk came back. "But oh well… All is well, now!" Turning to Lovino, he whispered conspiratorially, "Let's go see if we can knock Luddy's and Feli's city over!"

Lovino laughed until he snorted. "Count me in!"

The two then ran off, presumably to mess with their younger brothers.

"How did I not see it before?" Diedrich mused aloud. "All this time…"

"You favored Ludwig, didn't you?" Romulus asked, knowingly.

A curt nod proved him right.

"We are very alike, aren't we." Romulus shook his head sadly. "We were both blind to things that should have been obvious."

"I'll talk with him later," was all the blond said.

The conversation ended there, and both men silently sat on the couch until Feliciano came running up to them, crying about how 'mean Lovi and Gil' destroyed the city that he and Ludwig worked for a long time on. However, after a few moments, the tears disappeared, and the boy returned to his new friends.

Romulus smiled. _Despite some rough patches, I know all of them will be great friends. And who knows? Maybe Feli and Ludwig _will _fall in love and get married one day…_ He relaxed his posture. _I mean, really? Who would have thought that I would ever be a guest in Diedrich Beilschmidt's house? At this point, anything could happen, and I wouldn't be surprised. _

Shaking his head, he chuckled. The day had been an exhausting one, but an interesting one, to say the least.

**/**

**Hopefully, that wasn't too bad. (I've never written these characters before, so I hope I didn't butcher any of them.) **

**I always thought that these characters paralleled each other, hence the title. I really hope Gilbert didn't seem too OOC, here; I always thought he would act this way, as a child. Same with Lovino. (I wanted to add his brattiness, but at the same time, I wanted to show his insecure side, too.) **

**The ending might seem a bit weird, but it was because I really had no idea how to end it without seeming like I cut it short.**

**Translations: **

_**Mio nipoti**_**: My grandchildren (Italian)**

_**Per favore, nipote:**_** Please, grandson (Italian)**

**Once again, Merry Christmas, bagofbadgers~ I hope this is to your liking.**


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